This invention relates to a theft alerting device. In particular, the invention is concerned with such a device related to electric watthour meters, more particularly to prohibit unauthorized use and tampering of the meter.
With the increased cost of energy, utility companies are plagued with the theft of electricity by meter tampering. One of the ways of doing this is to remove a meter from its housing, or socket, and to reconnect the line conductors to the terminals of the meter thereby rendering the meter non-registering of used electricity. In some cases, the meter is reconnected reversedly to deregister the use of electricity. Prior to the time that the meter reader arrives to read the energy consumed, the meter is restored to is original condition.
One of the ways in which unauthorized meter tampering is noted is to use "a red flag" indicator to show that the meter has been stopped as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,112 (Forrestor). A problem with these devices is that during shipping, the meter can be inverted resulting in the tripping of the indicator. As a result, the meter seal must be broken and the cover removed, to reset the meter before the meter can be used. The cover seal is the manufacturer's guarantee of accuracy to the meter and when broken, the meter must be retested before it can be resealed resulting in additional time and expense.
Another device which is known to prevent meter tampering is to have specially designed socket and mounting means such that a meter cannot be mounted in the inverted position. Such an example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,290 (Warren) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,588 (Westberry). These disclose obstruction members which are provided within the box that receives the watthour meter, the obstructions being assymmetrically disposed thereby preventing misorientation of the meter in the box. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,943, there is disclosed a gravity actuated switch for reversing winding connections when the meter is inverted and other prior art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,935 (Brewer).
A disadvantage with the prior art is that a utility may not be alerted to the attempt, albeit unsuccessful of a consumer to tamper with a meter. There is a need for utilities to be made aware of the identity of such customers.